Eating rape bedding

[Pippity]

My horse appears to have started to eat her chopped rape bedding. I'm switching her to shavings but do I need to worry about anything happening to her innards from the rape? Googling came up with some very disturbing sites and I don't want to investigate further!

(I'd like to point out that she is absolutely not eating it out of desperation. She's leaving her soaked hay and bucket feed in favour of eating her bed.)

 

[jnb]

A friend of mine had this issue, can you spray it with diluted dettol or Jeye's fluid to discourage ? I would be worried about impaction tbh as it absorbs liquid very efficiently.

 

[PurBee]

Mine did this - both horses with loads of hay still ate the rape bedding. They found it very palatable, yet all sellers of it describe it as ‘unpalatable’

My supplier ran out of miscanthus and decided to bag chopped rape in the miscanthus bags and call it miscanthus, saying ‘its all the same’
No, rape is sprayed heavily with agro-chemicals and is palatable moreso than miscanthus which is like bamboo and a clean crop, in case they eat it.

My 2 showed colic symptoms and both became footy. Rock crunching to footy within 24hrs of consuming the stuff….farting and behaviourally agitated.
Due to the agro-chemicals commonly used on the crop for its oil, the manufacturers of the specific chemicals themselves say not to use it as a feed for animals.
Yep, i went down that rabbithole and its not an experience i want to repeat.

It’s mass industry trying to find a use for all excess product, and unfortunately, the animal industry is normally where it ends up - mostly material not really suitable for animals, especially horses, like ’soya bean meal’ etc. Where there’s a buck to be made, there’s ‘profit before health’.
They should just compost the rape and sell that or sell it as garden mulch….not for animals to be near and possibly die from. ?

 

[Pippity]

My 2 showed colic symptoms and both became footy. Rock crunching to footy within 24hrs of consuming the stuff….farting and behaviourally agitated.

That's interesting - she's been running very warm to the touch (but no temperature) and was an absolute cow in the school last week. I'd been putting it down to being in season and hoolying round the field, but it does also fit with when she started to eat her bed.

 

[Goldenstar]

I keep Sky on rape he is allergic to shavings, they are lemon scented to keep,them from eating it we can’t put H in thst stable he just gorges the rape he also eats straw pellets.

 

[gryff]

I find if you mix the older bedding in woth the new, they aren't interesting in it then.